The professor is surprised by the decision of the Seimas: if the members of the Seimas guess by hand, what to expect from ordinary people?

Now it is said publicly that experts are being consulted about the possibility of holding such meetings, but many are surprised that this was not done until the spring.

M. Stankūnas commented that there are two things that change him and they are not very understandable in this situation.

“I think there are two things in this story. First of all, the problem must be thoroughly examined by the epidemiologists of the NVSC (National Center for Public Health – Delfi): who had what contact, what distance they kept and how often. Only messages from the media can give a superficial enough impression. “

However, he said, the Seimas board’s decision to allow him to do the session turned out to be strange.

“After all, they are not fully aware of these epidemiological problems, and NVSC staff assesses those risks every day. Second, the government asks people to isolate themselves, to sacrifice themselves, to protect the health system, and the very elected citizens of the nation should set a great example If Seimas members anticipate this, what can we expect from ordinary people?

I think this is the most important thing, because many people are quarantined, lose income, it is difficult for parents with children to distance learning. The simplest empathy must be shown so that such a thing does not also spread outside the Seimas in society ”, the professor assured.

The virus is not just a political problem

Seimas member Kęstutis Glaveckas said on the program that he also misjudged such a decision by the Seimas Board, because “the educator must be educated himself.” However, he also lost the idea that the virus has become a political problem rather than a health one. In response to such a statement from a politician, M. Stankūnas replied that it is not good to say.

“I think the virus is not really a political problem, maybe a problem of how it is handled, but first it is a health problem.”

In addition, he emphasized, the coronavirus has gone beyond public health, so it must be analyzed from different angles.

Speaking of its constant comparison with the Spanish flu, the expert said that it is not good to compare it with an event that was a hundred years ago, because knowledge and science are very advanced today and now the situation is different.

“One of the scenarios that we have discussed in the council is what would happen if we did nothing and live a simple life like last November. So we should have 160 thousand by Christmas. cases. What does this mean? Our long-term follow-up shows that 5 percent. needs hospital care, it’s December 18. we should have closed hospitals. “

According to him, many people say that Lithuania has many doctors, but according to M. Stankūnas, a neurosurgeon does not usually take it or cure it, because the treatment itself is very complicated and both protection measures and knowledge are needed.

“The study showed that the doctors themselves experienced great stress and fear in the spring.”

There should be a reduction in the number of cases during Christmas

However, the professor said that it is already possible to see some signs of improvement due to what Lithuanian medicine and the people themselves have done. When asked how long those numbers should be removed, he explained that for now, we’ll have to come to terms with one way or another to live with the virus.

“It just came to our notice then. I look at the recently released numbers that are declining, but probably only from Nov 20-27. We will see more pronounced signs of positivity and we may have a decline in signs over Christmas. At that time , maybe only 15-16 thousand. infected. We must understand that the situation as it was a year ago is not clear when it will come. That life, as it was last November, definitely will not happen yet. “

Now, the expert stressed, it is important to manage the situation and track down, examine the contacts.

“It is important that untraceable contacts are reduced. The next thing we need to be prepared for is for the health system to take care of them. fighting patient. Testing should also be simplified. “

However, M. Stankūnas was pleased that the vaccine, which had already reached the third phase of testing, was available in less than a year. In his opinion, that speed is, in fact, impressive.

“Its effectiveness is also surprising.”